


Gambling Fool

by slowjaems



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Casino AU, Detective! Mark, M/M, criminal! hyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-01-26 16:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21377191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowjaems/pseuds/slowjaems
Summary: Detective Mark Lee is aware that several things could go wrong when posing undercover to bust a casino mob ring, but accidentally falling for the younger brother of three psychotic mob bosses is not one of them.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Kim Jungwoo, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, onesided! hyuck/lucas
Comments: 25
Kudos: 116





	1. Prologue

Mark is handed the file for the Lee family case on a Tuesday.

Captain Moon Taeil’s face is firm and serious in a way that makes Mark squirm in his desk chair. Usually, the captain could be seen walking around the station with a friendly, easy going smile, even as they dealt with solving murders and taking down drug lords in the span of impossible time crunches. That, and captain Moon was young and outside of his time as the head of the investigation unit, Mark knew that the man taught free music classes at some of the underprivileged schools around the city and he made sure to bake cookies for their entire office when the holidays rolled around. Mark’s first day in the unit had been spent spilling coffee, printing documents backwards, and losing the keys to his squad car _twice_, but Taeil had merely pat him on the back and told him that he was doing fine.

So, Taeil was nice and Mark was grateful for it. What he was not grateful for was just how tired his boss looked as he motioned for Mark to follow him to his office. Mark scrambles from his chair, ignoring how the desk chair bumps rather ungracefully against the cubicle wall behind him. He also ignores the looks from his fellow detectives who watch them curiously despite being overwhelmed with phone calls and paperwork. The walk to Taeil’s office is short, and Mark swallows thickly when he steps inside and the captain closes the door behind them. Taeil’s office is always spotless despite the amount of paperwork that being the captain of the investigation bureau called for. But now, it’s a mess with papers sprawled on the desk and floor, several cups of coffee, some empty, others full and untouched, sitting on every surface, and coats and shirts strewn on the couch signifying the many nights Taeil had spent sleeping in his office.

“So, I’ll just cut straight to the chase.” Taeil says once he’s seated comfortably at his desk. Mark’s heart jumps straight into overdrive and almost immediately he’s overwhelmed with anxiety, and it must show on his face because Taeil lets out a quiet, easy going laugh and holds out his hand in a calming gesture, “I mean, sorry Lee, don’t freak out… yet-“

“_Yet_?” Mark blurts out before he can stop himself.

But the signs were already there: Taeil’s seriousness, his messy office, and the fact that Mark had been called to the office alone, without his partner. He was about to be handed his first serious case, and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it except that he could already feel his nerves begin to spike. Technically, he was still a rookie – he never left the bureau without his partner, and even then, they handled him the pettiest crimes that could appear within an investigation bureau, which granted, on most occasions meant murder. But at least Mark never had to deal with it alone. Now, he’s standing in Taeil’s office by himself, fiddling awkwardly with his suspenders.

“Have a seat, Mark.” Taeil instructs to which Mark slowly steps forward and sits in the chair in front of his bosses desk. Captain Moon smiles awkwardly then, motioning to one of the many coffee cups lingering on his desk, “How about some coffee?”

Mark doesn’t want to drink any of the old, stale death contraptions on his bosses’ desk, but technically, he needs his job and a distraction from his impending panic attack, so he grabs the fullest mug from the captain’s desk, hoping that it’s fullness meant that it was fresher than the others. At Taeil’s encouraging nod, he takes a sip and promptly gags at just how bitter, cold, and terrible it is.

“Great, so-“ Taeil starts, as if he hasn’t just tried to kill his rookie investigator with a stale cup of coffee, “You’ve been with the unit for a while, Mark. And you’ve proven to be very capable, which is why I’ve decided to entrust you with this particular case.” 

At the unexpected compliments, Mark promptly stops choking to stare at the captain with wide eyes. He has been with the unit for two years and in those two years, he’s only mastered the art of making the perfect coffee and learned _not_ to uncuff suspects because they had “wrist cramps”.

“And you’re also the youngest one here, which makes you perfect for this as well.” Taeil adds, and _oh_, Mark thinks, slouching with defeat, turns out he wasn’t that capable after all.

“What exactly is it, sir? If you don’t mind me asking.” Mark speaks up for the first time, anxious and apprehensive and ready to know how his life is about to change.

“As you may know, there has been a case that this bureau was assigned that has been going on since I first started working here, which was well... eons ago, but anyway it’s still going on to this day, and each passing year, it grows even more complicated. I realize now that the only way to solve it is to directly tackle it.” Taeil explains, opening his desk draw and pulling out a file overflowing with papers.

Mark takes one glance at the name scribbled at the top of the manila folder and he nearly faints. Instead, his hand shakes so bad that he drops his coffee cup on the desk. Tiny speckles of dark liquid stain the folder but Taeil cannot be bothered, too busy opening the folder with immense care. Mark swallows nervously as he takes in several years of paperwork following one of the most infamous lineages of criminals that their country has ever known.

“The Lee Family is… one of the most difficult cases I’ve ever seen. It all seems so obvious. They have casinos at every corner in this country, all of which we are positive are aligned with criminal activity. Their casinos have been linked with several other cases of criminal intent, and their business partners are known to engage in shady dealings themselves. However, we lack any solid evidence to convict any of them. We’re missing something very important: a witness. We’ve attempted to speak with the casino’s employees, but they refuse to cooperate and the one time we did find someone willing, they went missing the very next day.” Taeil says before looking up at Mark with a dire expression, “So, we need eyes on the inside. We need you, Mark.”

Mark wants to do several things. First, he wants to laugh because he thinks the Captain is joking (although it would be a horrible joke), but when, after a few seconds, Taeil neither laughs nor smiles, he realizes that his boss is very much serious. This also makes Mark want to pass out or either, simply not exist. Third, he wants to go back to fifth grade and tell his teacher that he actually wants to be a firefighter and _not_ a cool detective like his father.

“Uh, I don’t think that I can-“ Mark starts, but Taeil is already interrupting him.

“Right, so before you start to back out, I just want you to know Mark-“ The Captain says, reaching across his desk to place a gentle hand on Mark’s quivering one with an assuring smile, “-you have no choice. I hate to be that person, but we are desperate, and I want this case solved as quickly as possible. So, you either take the case or face suspension and possible termination.”

That’s kind of illegal, Mark wants to say. But he also knows that the worse Taeil could do was have him transferred to another unit, which Mark realized was worse than actually firing him. Mark has grown used to his unit. He’s used to hearing Taeil’s singing late at night when he’s typing up his last report of the day, he’s used to the plate of cookies that would waiting on his desk every holiday, and he’s used to his partner ruffling his hair and calling him _kid_ whenever he messed up. Among the late nights spent chasing criminals down dark alleys and the hours spent in interrogation rooms alternating between good and bad cop, Mark realizes that things were quite easy for him in Captain Moon’s unit.

There was no telling how much that would change if he went anywhere else. Mark is comfortable, he doesn’t want that to change. And besides, no matter where he went, a serious case like this would arise eventually. He knew it would be better if he went through it with Taeil guiding him – at least he could find comfort in knowing that his boss would do his best to see Mark through whatever lie ahead.

“What do you need me to do?” Mark asks finally, sitting up in his chair.

“I need you to go undercover at the Seoul casino." Taeil informs him, and Mark can feel his chest constrict with the anxious beating of his heart. The Seoul casino was, without a doubt, one of the Lee family’s most famous casinos. It was where their journey in the world of crime began, and it was also the base of their operations. And here Taeil was, sending him right into the heart of it all. Mark felt sick, but Taeil merely continues by motioning to the file on his desk, “We’re sending you in as a waiter in the casino’s restaurant. The witness that I spoke of, before he went missing, he worked there, and he said that members of the Lee family frequented the place. Also, the restaurant caters to the Lee family personally, which means that on occasion, you will be serving members of the Lee family their food directly.”

To hide the nervous twitching of his fingers, Mark pushes his specs further up his nose and pretends he isn’t having a nervous breakdown. Not only was Taeil sending him to the base of one of the most dangerous crime families, but he also wanted Mark to interact with them _directly_. It was dangerous – one wrong move and Mark could end up like the witness, missing and never heard from again.

“The witness was an eighteen-year-old male who’s family was indebted to the Lees. He worked in the kitchen as a waiter to relieve them of this debt, and it was there that he caught the attention of a member of the Lee family. The witness was welcomed into their inner circle, slowly but surely. Eventually, he managed to gain their trust which allowed him a firsthand glimpse into their lifestyle. What he saw… frightened him, but luckily for us, he decided to deal with his fears by writing about his experiences. He started a journal, a firsthand account of the things he saw and the people he dealt with. This journal is the only major piece of evidence we have on the Lee family. It has given us descriptions of the family members and their associates to such a degree that has helped us so much with our investigation. And now, it is yours, Mark. It’s really going to be your lifeline. If you want to survive, you’re going to need it.”

Taeil reaches beneath a pile of papers on his desk to reveal a worn, grey journal. He hands it to Mark who accepts it hesitantly. Despite the light weight of the journal, he instantly feels weighed down by the intensity of its contents.

“It has descriptions of each family member, the things they like and don’t like, what and what not to say to each member, and how the witness became close to them. You’ll want to know it front to back by Thursday, because your disguise will be created Friday, and we plan to have you inside the casino by Saturday.”

“S-Saturday?” Mark blurts out. He had three days to memorize an entire journal, a day to form an entirely new persona, and five days to prepare for one of the most important cases of his life.

“I know it’s short notice, but recent events have implied that the family has been having… difficulties. They’re vulnerable. This may be the only chance to get someone inside and we can’t miss it.” Taeil tells him, eyes alight with determination that makes any argument stirring up in Mark quickly die out. He watches as the Captain slides the file towards him just as a knock sounds at the office door, “Study the file, memorize the journal, and on Thursday, be ready to start preparing for an entirely different lifestyle.”

Mark stares at the files, the journal, and then his bosses serious expression. He nods, stacks the journal on top of the file, and then carefully stands balancing them both as he turns to leave.

“I’m counting on you, Mr. Lee.” Taeil calls behind him.

And Mark wants to say that he won’t let him down, but he’s not so sure that it’s true. So he simply accepts the encouragement silently. The door to the office opens and he’s met with one of his fellow detectives curious faces. But Mark ignores his curiosity, and, tucking the file and journal closer to his chest, he hurries out of the room, ignoring the rapid beating of his heart. Nearly an hour ago his biggest worry had been using the correct font for his latest report. Now, he had an entire family to take down.

Mark sighs and heads back to his cubicle where his partner is leaning against the wall. He’s holding out a blue stress ball with a knowing look. Mark plops down at his desk, dropping the file and journal. He accepts the stress ball only to drop it on the desk before his head follows suit, squishing against the stress ball as he drops his head on his desk in a dramatic display, ignoring the laughter of his partner, who, like everyone else, was unaware of the great turmoil of Mark Lee. 

* * *

That night, Mark is huddled around his laptop in a blanket fort that he had built in a childish need for comfort. He’s forking through cheap takeout with Criminal Minds opened in another tab (he thinks it’s funny to watch shows about his own job), but he knows that he can’t waste time on his usual nighttime routine. Instead, he turns on a flashlight, pretending he’s huddled at his cubicle and he sifts through the weighted file his Captain had given him. He learns years’ worth of history on the casinos, how they began, who started them, and then he learns about how the criminal activity began. The files detail every suspicion, every charge, and every criminal act associated with what became known as the Lee family. And then, the documents begin to list just who the Lee family is.

_A syndicate of offenders suspected of arousing criminal activity in targeted areas_, Mark reads at the top of one particular page before he’s met with a series of pictures. They’re all low quality, taken in the most discreet manners, but they all provide images of several different men. The first is a brunet who’s standing on the street surrounded by several men in black, who Mark assumed were his bodyguards. The man, who stood tall in his tan trench coat, appeared to be joking with one of the bodyguards. His eyes were crinkled, and his smile was warm for that of a criminal. The words _Johnny Seo_ are scribbled beside his picture and according to the file, he was the oldest in the Lee family. His mother had an affair with the former head of the Lee family, making him the stepbrother of the current family head. The file also indicated that he oversaw the illegal street racing the family was rumored to be involved in.

Mark takes in Johnny’s smiling face one last time before he looks further down. This time he’s met with a dark-haired man who appears to be trying on a suit. He’s staring in the mirror of a shop, examining himself with a serious expression. He too has a mass of men in black surrounding him, but he doesn’t appear to be as friendly with his bodyguards as Johnny had been with his. _Kim Doyoung_, the file read. It also states that like Johnny, his mother became involved with the former head of the family, which also made him the stepbrother of the currently family head. While Johnny was the oldest, the file claimed that Doyoung was only a year younger than the current family head.

“Who is the family head?” Mark mutters to himself, only to quickly find the answer beneath the next photograph. The image is of that of a young man with faded light blue hair falling into his face. His expression seemed almost pouty in a way. He stood at a betting table beneath the chandeliers of one of the most expensive looking casino’s Mark has ever seen. On the man’s right stood Johnny, grinning widely, and Doyoung, smirking slightly. The two appeared to be making fun of the man, and the sea of bodyguards around them seemed to have found it amusing as well. They almost looked normal, but then Mark looks down to see that the man’s name is _Lee Taeyong_, he was twenty-four, ranked highly dangerous, and he was the current head of the Lee family.

“Oh.” Mark gasps out. He’s prepared to consume a mouthful of noodles, but the lump in his throat makes him drop his fork back into its container and merely stir the noodles around anxiously instead. So, these were the infamous Lee brothers, he thought. But then, his eyes stray further down to see a fourth photo.

The boy in it looked younger than the other three. He was seated in a restaurant, in the midst of talking. Mark takes in his brunet hair, his tan skin, and the mischievous look in his eyes. The file informed him that the boy’s name was _Lee Donghyuck_, he was nineteen, and while Johnny and Doyoung were their stepbrothers, he and Taeyong were blood brothers making him the youngest Lee brother. Unlike his older brothers, there were only a few bodyguards lingering in the back of Donghyuck’s photo.

Instead, sitting beside him at the table were a group of boys who appeared to be around Donghyuck’s age. Though their faces were blurry as they seemed to be in the midst of laughing at whatever Donghyuck had said, scribbled over the faces of two blonds and two brunets were the names _Lee Jeno, Park Jisung, Na Jaemin,_ and _Huang Renjun_. Unlike the brothers, there was no information on Donghyuck’s companions. Mark frowns, flipping through the file for anything on the other boys, but there was nothing. Frustrated, he runs a hand through his hair and when he drops it, it knocks against something. Mark looks down to find the grey journal. He pushes the file aside and drags the journal into view, taking a deep breath before opening it.

The first page appears to be some sort of introduction by the witness saying that he was eighteen when he first started working for the Lee family and nineteen by the time he became apart of their inner circle. There was also a brief warning about the things he had seen, but Mark, a Detective who had seen many things, ignores it and flips to the next page only to frown when the witness recounts the events of a night that involved enough violence and blood to make Mark’s head spin. He continues to flip through the pages, noticing how sporadic it was in nature. Some pages were about the witnesses life as waiter in the casino, others were about the things he had seen as a part of the family’s inner circle, and then there were pages dedicated to people. Mark decides to look for the ones profiling members of the family.

He flips around a bit before he finally lands on a page with a polaroid of a familiar brunet who was smiling, their hair disheveled from the window rolled down beside them as they sat in the passenger seat of a car. The name _Na Jaemin_ was scribbled at the top, the same Na Jaemin from Donghyuck’s photo. The witness had gone through great measures to list the things that Jaemin liked and the things that made him angry or upset along with the small details he seemed to learn about the boy the more he got to know him. The witness wrote that Jaemin was “mischievous but charming”, his father was promoted to owner of one of the casino’s headed by the Lee family, he liked when the witness would surprise him with coffee, and he didn’t like when people questioned him. At the bottom was an account of incident where Jaemin, when questioned by one of his bodyguards, promptly had the man shoved out of a moving vehicle so that he could “get some fresh air” to help him better understand that his orders went without question. Mark takes in Jaemin’s bright smile and contrasting description before flipping around for another profile.

The next he lands on is that of a blond who appears to be leaning against the wall outside a store at night. He appeared to be playing a game on his phone, smiling despite his concentration. Like Jaemin, he too seemed nice, but the scar running along his cheek told Mark otherwise. According to the witness, the blond’s name was _Lee Jeno_ and his parents once owed a debt to the Lee family that Doyoung decided to have Jeno pay off by recruiting him for the illegal, underground fighting rings the family partook in. One night, Donghyuck and Jaemin snuck into one of the matches where they saw Jeno fighting on the family’s behalf. They were impressed and decided to welcome Jeno into their circle, and even when his debt was paid off, Jeno stayed. The witness wrote that despite his appearance Jeno was like a child – he liked games (particularly he liked stealing Jaemin’s phone despite having his own to play games), he didn’t like when Jaemin was upset, and he also had no problem getting rid of people and bodies. Mark makes note of it all before flipping through the journal once more.

The next profile he lands on is of a brunet sitting cross-legged on a bed, surrounded by drawings. They appeared to be pointing at one drawing in particular, staring down at it with a small smile. The brunet was named _Huang Renjun_, his parents catered to the casinos, and he became a part of Donghyuck’s circle after putting hot sauce in Donghyuck’s birthday cake after the Lee boy was rude to one of the casino’s kitchen staff. Instead of being angry, Donghyuck had been impressed by Renjun’s boldness and he welcome the brunet into his circle despite the bickering that often occurred between the two. Renjun’s profile said that he was difficult to read, he liked art, he frequented the casino’s kitchen often, and he helped Johnny recruit people for the family’s street racing trade. Renjun would probably be one of the first people he would encounter among the inner circle, it seemed, so Mark makes sure to memorize his profile in its entirety before flipping to the next one.

He’s met with the picture of a blond seated at the edge of a rooftop, legs dangling over the edge as they pointed to the city below with smirk. _Park Jisung_, Mark mouths their name before looking at their profile which said that like Jeno, their parents owed the Lee family a debt. Taeyong decided to absolve the debt by taking Jisung, who was too young for street racing or fighting, from his parents and “adopting” him as the unofficial fourth Lee brother to keep Donghyuck company (despite him having his own steadily growing inner circle). Jisung’s profile said that he didn’t like to talk about his parents, he liked when they had family dinners at the casino, and he frequented the casino restaurant for a reason that the witness never explained. Mark found that his profile was a bit vague in comparison to the others, but he narrowed it down to Jisung being hard to read like Renjun.

He realizes that this is the last of the profiles, so he flips around the journal aimlessly until he’s met with one that he’s missed. It’s Donghyuck, sitting in a restaurant booth with a boy that Mark doesn’t recognize. He’s smiling widely and the boy beside him is doing the same, though he seemed a bit nervous. Upon further inspection, Mark realizes that the nervously smiling boy is in fact the witness who’s journal he’s been reading. Donghyuck’s page is completely blank, devoid of any of the information that the other’s have except for a single sentence that makes Mark’s mind go blank when he reads it. He rereads it for a second time before flipping the journal shut and plopping face first onto his blanket pallet. His mission, it seems, had just gotten that much more complicated.

* * *

Friday rolls around quicker than Mark is expecting. He’s spent most of his week memorizing information from the journal, and soon, he found that he knew more about the Lee family than he did his own family. He figures that the associates of the Lee family probably felt the same way. Soon, he would be one of those associates or at least another face in their inner circle, and the thought had given him panic attacks in two-hour intervals. It doesn’t help that he’s summoned to Taeil’s office as soon as he arrives to work Friday morning. As soon as he steps inside, Taeil grabs him by the arm and leads him outside.

“Come on, we’re headed to Special Operations.” The captain informs him as he pulls him along, “We have about eight hours to turn you into a carbon copy of our witness.”

“W-What?” Mark stammers in alarm.

“I assume you read the journal last night, am I right?” Taeil asks, keeping his eyes forward as they walk through the department. Mark nods, and the captain, sensing this, adds, “And you made it to Donghyuck’s page then, yes?”

Mark nods again, feeling his stomach clench with dread as he remembers the sole sentence written on the youngest Lee’s page.

“Then you know why the witness was able to get into his inner circle, and you also know why we need you to look like him as much as possible.” Taeil concludes to which Mark stutters, prepared to argue how wrong it is to try to imitate someone who was missing and possibly dead, but then the captain pauses in his steps to grab him by the arm and look him in the eye, “Listen Mark, we received Intel yesterday that the witness may still be alive. In fact, I’m almost sure that they are. If what they put on Donghyuck’s page is true then they’re most likely still alive, just not in the most fortunate circumstances. Either way, I know you already feel overwhelmed, but I’m adding this to your mission – find out what happened to the witness.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Mark mutters quietly, feeling his already diminished confidence regarding his mission dwindle even more.

“It’s simple.” Taeil tells him, looking the rookie firmly in the eye when he adds, “Get close to Donghyuck.”

And how am I supposed to do that, Mark was about to ask before the words in the journal began to flash through his mind. Apparently, if he did end up looking like the witness, it would be easy. The question was, could Mark carry through with it? Donghyuck was directly associated with criminals – Donghyuck himself was a _criminal_. Mark should have no issue with his captain’s plan, but it almost felt as if he were using Donghyuck. It wasn’t fair, but neither was the amount of bodies buried beneath the casino. Something had to be done about it, even if it meant using a nineteen-year old’s feelings as a means to do so.

“I’ll try my best.” Mark says finally, though a sinking feeling still lingered within him.

“You’ll have to do more than that to survive this.” Taeil mutters before turning and holding open the door for Special Ops. Mark swallows nervously before stepping inside. It’s dark inside the lab, the only light coming from a few dim lamps and computer screens.

“Hey! There you two are. I’ve been waiting for you.” A feminine voice calls out before a familiar special ops agents steps from behind one of the computer screens.

“So, what exactly needs to be done?” Taeil asks, motioning to Mark and then a computer screen which Mark is somewhat horrified to find has the same picture of the witness and Donghyuck as the journal.

“Not much.” Chungha says, looking back and forth between Mark and the picture observantly before she steps forward and runs her fingers across Mark’s bangs in a scissoring motion, “Just a haircut, a slight dye job, contacts, oh and we’ll go ahead and dye the eyebrows too-“

“My eyebrows?” Mark blurts out with a frown making Taeil snicker and Chungha snort in amusement.

“Yeah Lee, we can’t have you walking around with brown hair and black eyebrows.” The special ops agent says as if it were obvious. Mark is not sure why his eyebrows and hair color matching is so important, but he nods as if he understands the triviality of it all anyway. Chungha steps back and observes his outfit as if he wore his uniform everyday (which technically he did since he never knew when he’d be called in), “The witness was said to favor streetwear, which, no worries, my team is currently assembling months’ worth of suitable outfits for your new identity.”

The word “months” makes Mark cringe. He could be undercover for _months_ and the thought hadn’t hit him until Chungha had just voiced it. It took months for the witness to even get noticed by Donghyuck and his circle, which meant it would probably take Mark even longer. He could be undercover for _years_.

“As for personality, the witness was described as somewhat shy.” Taeil speaks up, staring at Mark expectantly, “So come on Lee, let’s see your best shy expression.”

Though he wasn’t exactly bold, Mark wasn’t quite shy either. He looks around the special ops unit as he thinks of a way to present himself as a timid person. Finally, he decides to look down in what he hopes is a shy manner and does his best to force a blush onto his face.

“You look like you’re going to pass out.” Taeil notes bluntly making Chungha giggle. Mark gives up on his shy ruse then, an actual blush gracing his face in his embarrassment. Taeil ignores his flushed face to motion for Mark to sit in the chair in front of him. When the detective does so, Taeil sits across from him and pins him with a serious expression, “I wouldn’t normally say this since you’re in disguise, but just be yourself. I actually think that might be a good idea this time around. You’re likable, Lee. I think that even the likes of Lee Donghyuck and his circle will agree.”

“What about everything else?” Mark asks, frowning in confusion.

“Everything else stays the same.” The captain informs him as he stands from his chair, “You’re Lee Minhyung, but people call you Mark. You’re twenty-two, and you’ve come to Seoul for a new life.”

“That’s not much of a disguise.” Mark jokes with an amused snort that is abruptly cut short when Taeil gives him a serious look.

“It isn’t.” The captain says quietly, “That’s why you have to succeed.”

Mark realizes then that this is more than an undercover mission. It seemed that Taeil was willing to put more on the line than he was willing to admit. Mark might have been physically imitating the witness, but ultimately, he was going in as himself. He had heard of these kinds of missions. If he got caught, he would have to leave his life behind permanently. He could never go back to being Detective Lee again. The realization hangs in the air when Taeil leaves without another word. Chungha is left to place a sympathetic hand on Mark’s shoulder.

“You’ll do just fine.” She tells him, reaching over to pinch his cheek with a warm smile, “And you’ll be back before you know it.”

Mark smiles, but it’s nervous and unsure. Chunga gives his shoulder one last gentle squeeze before leaving to gather the supplies necessary for his disguise. The detective is left to sit there in silence before he sighs, turning to look at the screen behind him. He takes in the witnesses hesitant smile and Donghyuck’s bright smile before he looks away. Mark stands and follows after Chungha to prepare for Saturday. 

* * *

Mark does several things in the span of twenty-four hours. He calls his mom. He calls his dad. He texts all of his friends that he loves them (and ignores the mixed messages he receives in response). He forces his partner to go out for ice cream with him. He walks around his apartment and touches every single item in it. He cooks his favorite food for dinner. He builds his blanket fort one last time. He watches something other than Criminal Minds. He falls asleep in minutes. It’s a stream of trying to hang on to his life before that he’s forced to snap out of when he blinks and suddenly, he’s sitting in a diner with Chunga and Captain Moon. His hair is a dark brown beneath his green beanie, his glasses are no more, and he can’t help but to squirm in the yellow shirt, denim jacket covered in buttons and sewn on logos, and black jeans. He looked like a college student all over again.

“Today is the big day.” Chunga says with a smile as if they’re sending him off to university, “How are you feeling, Mark?”

Mark opens his mouth to reply but nothing comes out. He didn’t know how he felt or at least he couldn’t put his fear into words. At his lack of words, Chunga smiles sympathetically.

“Just… try not to think about it.” Taeil offers weakly before he glances at his watch and announces, “It’s time.”

Wordlessly, Mark nods and slides out of the booth. The thing about undercover missions was that there was no going back. As soon as he stepped out of the diner, he would be on his own. Swallowing nervously, the detective wills his legs to move. He pushes the double doors of the diner open and steps out, leaving Detective Mark Lee behind. He steps out as just Mark and even though he’s still himself, everything feels different. Everything is so loud – the cars passing by on the street, the people talking among each other.

Mark has no money. He has no job. He has no apartment on the top floor anymore. He just has a job interview at the casino downtown that he has less than fifteen minutes to get to. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Mark turns and heads in the direction he had to memorize the night before. Chungha and Taeil watch him from the diner before he disappears down the street altogether. It feels different, Mark realizes. Usually, around this time he would be out investigating crime scenes or begging his partner to treat him to pizza for lunch. Now, he’s walking towards the heart of Seoul’s crime scene. He passes tea shops. He counts cracks in the sidewalk. He tries to remember what kind of coffee Na Jaemin loves. He tries to come up with a game that Jeno will like. This is his life now.

Eventually, the casino comes into view. It’s huge, bigger than the investigation bureau, bigger than Mark’s five story apartment building. Even in the setting sun, the casino stood out in it’s black, velvet, and gold. Several cars were parked out front and Mark has to avoid an onslaught of men, women, and couples rushing inside with eager smiles and oblivious anticipation. He feels somewhat out of place in his denim jacket and beanie, but then he remembers that he’s headed for the restaurant and not the betting tables. He’s confused at first as to how to get there but then he sees a flashing golden sign with a chef cartoon at the top meant to indicate that it was where the restaurant stood. Mark takes a deep breath before heading towards it. He opens the double doors and is surprised to find the restaurant mostly empty. There were a few people here and there, but it seemed that mostly everyone was on the other side of the casino – ready to bet their life savings away to criminals.

The restaurant looked to be a retro replica with red and white booths, checkered flooring, and a jukebox that somehow seemed to be connected to Bluetooth. The theme made Mark feel somewhat more relaxed. It felt less serious, like it wasn’t owned by some of Seoul’s most notorious criminals. Mark makes his way to the counter and waits, making sure not to be too obvious that he was taking note of every detail in sight.

“Hello!” A bright voice exclaims before someone comes rushing towards the counter. Standing before Mark, smiling brightly, is a blond boy wearing a red, striped shirt with a crooked name tag that read _Chenle_, “Welcome to the diner. How can I help you?”

“Uh, hi. I’m Mark. I-“

“Mark!” Chenle exclaims, eyes lighting up with recognition, “I know that name. You have an interview for the waiter position, right?”

“I do. Sorry I’m late, I got lost-“ Mark starts, attempting to get into character but Chenle merely waves him off.

“It’s fine.” The blond assures before motioning for Mark to come around the counter and follow him, “You’re hired.”

“I’m hired?” Mark repeats with alarm, “But I just got here.”

Mark nearly regrets his words when Chenle cocks his head in response.

“You sound like you don’t want to work here.” Chenle says making Mark’s eyes widen in response. He forgot that he was “unemployed” and eager to find any job that he could. But when Chenle sees his shocked expression, he quickly reassures him, “I’m just kidding. It’s okay. I know you’ve probably heard weird stories about this place, but they’re all rumors, really. I’ve been working here since I was sixteen. I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks and I have no intention to quit, so it’s not so bad. The dinner rush can be crazy sometimes but it’s nothing too overwhelming. I promise!”

Chenle is all bright smiles and assuring words, but Mark knows there’s more to them. He knows that the “weird stories” were about the crime syndicate and they were very much true. He also knows Chenle doesn’t work there by choice. Not many worked at the casino by choice. Briefly, he wonders if Chenle’s parents owed a debt or if they had crossed the Lees in a way that called for the boy to become their latest permanent employee. Mark thinks he feels a headache coming on as he steps around the counter and follows Chenle into the kitchen, where the cooks and staff are working hard with dinner time approaching.

“Speaking of rumors, sometimes things happen in the casino that the owners would prefer stayed inside. Even though we work in the restaurant, sometimes those things happen in here or we could be asked to cater the family dinner in the casino – either way, you might see some strange things but it’s better not to think too much about it, okay?” Chenle explains over the bustle of the kitchen staff’s shouting and the rushing back and forth of the chefs and assistant chefs. It’s a complete contradiction to his earlier statement of the stories being “rumors” and Mark wants to call him out on it. He wants to tell Chenle that he’s a cop and he can help him get out of the casino if he tells him everything, but the odds were that he would scare Chenle and the blond would quickly turn him over to one of the Lee brothers. So Mark simply nods as if he understands and agrees. Chenle smiles and picks up a paper and a pen and holds them out to Mark, “The casino requires all workers to sign a nondisclosure to ensure that operations continue to run smoothly in the case of your termination. You understand, right? It’s nothing personal. You just sign it and you can start today!”

Chenle sounds like a robot albeit a happy one. He sounds as if he’s reciting something he’s been forced to say many times before. When Mark looks closely, the younger’s smile looks somewhat strained. It was clear he wanted Mark to sign the NDA so that he could drop his act. Mark decides to do him a favor. He signs quickly then hands it back to Chenle, who looks visibly relieved when he accepts it back. He nearly tosses the NDA aside, as if the sight of it gave him nightmares.

“We can start with something simple today.” Chenle says, the tension from before visibly draining from his features. This time, his smile is genuine and sweet, and Mark finds himself smiling back. He turns and washes his hands in the sink behind him then allows Mark to do the same. Then, he leads Mark to where a row of pastries filled with strawberries are lined up. There, he hands Mark a can of whipped cream before grabbing one for himself, “I can show you how to make the shortcakes tomorrow, but for now we really need to hurry and finish them. Jisung should be down any minute to come pick them up.”

_Jisung_, Mark hesitates at the mention of the familiar name. So, he would be meeting one of the Lee brothers on his very first day? He remembers how little there was in the witnesses’ journal regarding Jisung and it makes him feel a bit nervous. How should he act in the presence of the youngest brother? Would he even be allowed to speak to Jisung? Mark instantly felt overwhelmed, but when Chenle sees his turmoil and assumes it’s about the pastries, he squeezes a thin layer of whipped cream onto one of the shortcakes quickly.

“See? Not too much but not too little, if that makes sense.” He explains, giving Mark an encouraging smile, “Your turn!”

Mark squeezes the can, watching as the whipped cream shoots out quickly. But apparently, it’s too much because Chenle is quick to stop him.

“Not too much.” Chenle says before grabbing a knife and scooping half of the whip cream off to smear on another shortcake, murmuring quietly under his breath, “Jisungie doesn’t like too much whipped cream.”

Mark raises a brow, both at the nickname and the great precautions Chenle was going through to make sure everything was perfect for Jisung. But then, he figures that it was to be expected when serving food to actual criminals who could have you killed or missing if you put too much salt on their French fries. Keeping that in mind, Mark is sure to be careful as they finish up the rest of the shortcakes. Once they’re done, they scoop them into a decorated pastry box that Chenle carries out of the kitchen with Mark trailing behind him. Outside, seated at the counter with disheveled blond hair, a denim jacket with rips along the shoulders, and a bored expression is Park Jisung. And so, Mark thought, the real test had begun.

“Took you long enough.” Jisung drawls out as soon as he sees Chenle.

“Jisung!” Chenle exclaims happily despite the dry greeting from the other blond, “This was my first time making these. I hope you like them!”

“If you made them, then I’m sure that I will.” Jisung replies before he seems to realize he’s spoken out loud. Mark resists the urge to snort when the Park boy’s eyes widen briefly before he seems catch himself. He quickly tries to backtrack by adding coolly, “I mean, anything is better than what you made when you first started. It was really awful, but you’ve gotten a little better.”

But it’s too late, Chenle is already smiling widely, cheeks tinged pink from Jisung’s accidental compliment while Jisung himself looks like he wants to crawl into the nearest hole. It reminds Mark that despite the circumstances surrounding him, these were still teenagers he was dealing with.

“Who’s this?” Jisung asks when he finally realizes Mark’s presence. That, and he seemed eager to cover up his small slip up.

“This is Mark, our new hire!” Chenle exclaims, grabbing Mark by the arm to present to Jisung with an excited smile, “Isn’t he cute, Jisungie?”

Mark is about to open his mouth when he remembers that the witness had been shy and timid even, so he merely offers a small wave and tries his best to look reserved. Jisung looks unimpressed. In fact, he looked annoyed that Chenle had used “cute” to describe him. It made Mark wonder if he had made a bad impression with his silent greeting.

“I guess.” Jisung answers Chenle finally, though he looked as if he clearly didn’t mean it.

“Jisung!” A voice shouts, making them look over. A door on the opposite side of the room seemed to lead from the casino and stepping out of that door was none other than Huang Renjun. His brunet hair was damp and styled neatly, he wore an over sized sweater and jeans, and his iPhone was held close to his ear, “Hurry up! The race is starting soon.”

Jisung rolls his eyes at the other boy’s yelling.

“I’m coming.” He mutters though Renjun can’t hear him. He slides from his chair, giving Chenle a very small smile, “Thanks, I’ll let you know how I like them.”

“Okay.” Chenle blurts out eagerly before waving enthusiastically, “Bye Jisung!”

Jisung nods in response before turning to leave. Renjun is still there, seemingly exchanging insults with whoever he was on the phone with.

“I don’t care if your guy’s driving a Veneno, Lucas is still going to dust him and you’re still going to owe us two million by tomorrow.” The brunet says with a smirk, “Or you could go ahead and forfeit and only have to pay half of that. It’s up to you.”

Renjun, who’s too busy with his phone call, is nearly knocked over when the door to the casino comes bursting open and three more people enter, flanked by bodyguards. Na Jaemin looks even better in person and Lee Jeno is playing a game on a phone bearing Jaemin’s initials.

“There you two are.” Jaemin says when he spots Renjun and Jisung. He rests his head on Jeno’s shoulder and adds with a pout, “Can we leave for the race already? Jeno is starting to get annoyed with all of the delays.”

At this, Jeno crinkles his nose in disagreement but he doesn’t say anything. It was clear that Jaemin was talking about himself.

“Where’s Hyuck?” Renjun asks, taking a brief break from his phone call.

“Here.” A voice says, followed by, “Cross or skull?”

From the sea of bodyguards emerges Lee Donghyuck, who looks almost surreal to Mark. He takes in the boy’s brown eyes and the way his black blazer seems to compliment his tan skin, and he wonders if these are all the same things the witnessed first noticed as well. Donghyuck is holding up a cross earring and a skull earring up to each ear with an impatient expression,

“Neither.” Jaemin is quick to answer with a smirk, “Because Lucas is going to be too busy racing to pay attention to you.”

Donghyuck is immediately embarrassed. He drops the earrings that Mark is almost sure are worth hundreds, if not thousands and smacks the phone out of Jeno’s hand, which hits the floor with a loud thud. Jisung is peeking at the pastries in his box and Renjun is now exchanging actual insults with the person on the other line – neither pay attention to Donghyuck's actions, letting Mark know that it was probably a normal occurrence.

“You’re going to buy me a new phone.” Jaemin tells Donghyuck after leaning down to pick up his now cracked iPhone. He hands it back to Jeno, who lets out a frantic squeak when he realizes he’s now in last place on Mario Kart.

“We can get a new one on the way to the race.” Donghyuck waves him off casually, “Let’s go.”

At Donghyuck’s words, everyone seems to snap to attention. They file after him as he leads the way out of the diner, their body guards a small distance away.

“Have a good night!” Chenle calls after them suddenly, and surprisingly, they acknowledge the blond in return. Renjun waves, Jisung waves as well, Jaemin blows a kiss, Jeno smiles, and Donghyuck looks back at Chenle, only to freeze up entirely. He stops walking, causing Renjun to nearly bump into him.

“What’s wrong?” The Huang boy asks impatiently. When Donghyuck doesn’t respond, he follows the other boys line of sight where his eyes land on Mark. Just like Donghyuck, Renjun looks a bit shocked too, “He looks like-“

“Yeah” Donghyuck cuts the brunet off quickly, eyes still on Mark who steps back nervously at the attention. Jisung, Jaemin, and Jeno all look at Donghyuck in confusion before they too look back to see Mark as well. Jeno looks confused and Jaemin looks amused while Jisung looks concerned. He steps forward and places a hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“Come on, the race is starting soon.” He says gently, urging the other to step outside of the double doors that their bodyguards were now holding open. Donghyuck nods slowly, though he seems to struggle with looking away from Mark. Finally, he looks away and allows Jisung to guide him out of the restaurant. Renjun steals another glance at Mark, frowns, then follows after the other two. Jaemin is smirking when he gives Mark one final look before leaving with his arm slung over Jeno, who looks too disturbed to continue his game and is merely staring at Jaemin’s hand on his shoulder.

Mark watches them go, and it’s only when the diner doors close behind them that he’s able to breathe. He looks over at Chenle, who looks rather nervous about the entire ordeal.

“He just thought you looked like someone.” The blond explains as if Mark had asked about Donghyuck’s staring. It was clear that Chenle knew more than he let on and felt that he could cover up the strangeness of the encounter with his vague excuse. He smiles once more, this time with a certain somberness, “Like someone who once worked here but they left not too long ago… anyway, we should go help clean the kitchen. The cooks get grumpy when they have to do everything themselves.”

Chenle’s smile turns sweet once more and Mark does his best to smile back before the blond grabs his hand and pulls him towards the kitchen. Mark realizes then that, although it was short, he had survived his first night in the casino.


	2. Off to the Races

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck abandons his financing lesson and Renjun assembles the team for a recovery mission.

Lee Donghyuck sighs.

He squints at the numbers on the paper before him, watching as they blur into a jumble of incoherent ink. Finally, he pushes the paper away, knocking his calculator, pens, and pencils away in the process. Doyoung, who’s seated across from him, watches them hit the floor with an impassive expression. 

“I don’t understand.” Donghyuck admits finally, and it wasn’t just about the numbers. He doesn’t understand financing and accounting. He doesn’t understand how to add incomes across multiple casinos, underground fighting rings, illegal street racing, bets and gambles, and the men who protected it all. He doesn’t understand why he has to take over the “family business” one day. And he also doesn’t understand why he’s being forced to learn to do so anyway. Why couldn’t Doyoung take him to a movie or an arcade? Donghyuck wants to spend time with Doyoung, not learn from him.

“You would understand if you took it seriously.” Doyoung tells him, followed by a quiet sigh. It was clear that he had more important things to take care of, but he had taken time out of his busy schedule to try and teach his younger brother himself. The dark-haired boy picks up the fallen calculator, pens, and pencils, placing them on the desk before leveling his brother with a serious look, “What are you going to do if something happens to me, Taeyong, and Johnny?”

“Cry?” Donghyuck replies, “Fall into a pit of absolute despair and devastation- “

“After that” Doyoung prompts, and Donghyuck resists the urge to laugh because the newscasts were right about casting him as the “serious” Lee brother (except when he was around Taeyong, Donghyuck thought), “You do realize that once were gone, it’s all going to be up to you, right? Everything – the casino, the underground matches, the street racing ring – will be in your hands, and you have to know what to do with it. Our father- “

“Why can’t it be in Jisung’s hands instead?” Donghyuck mutters with a pout, in attempt to save himself from yet another one of Doyoung’s “our father” speeches.

Donghyuck doesn’t really care for his father. The man had died when Donghyuck was four and had left nothing behind for his sons except for three broken mothers, a tarnished family reputation, and a lifetime of crime. While his older brothers idolized their father, Donghyuck had been too young for the fair trips Johnny always talked about, the Christmas mornings filled with presents that Doyoung always bragged about, or the late-night bedtime stories Taeyong always seemed to remember. The only memories Donghyuck had of his father were his mother’s tears from the man’s infidelity, the faint laughter of a guilty man when he passed newsstands with his face plastered on them, and the heavy somberness that shook the casino when he left one day and never came back.

“He’s too young.” Doyoung replies, bringing Donghyuck back to the topic at hand. His older brother shoots him a look that says “you know that” but Donghyuck is more perplexed than anything.

He wants to ask how Jisung is too young to calculate finances but not too young to be snatched from his home, but he keeps his thoughts to himself. It was a touchy topic, the fifth “unofficial” Lee brother. Donghyuck remembers returning from one of his private tutoring sessions to find a small child sitting on his bed, wide eyed and afraid but trying to act tough. Donghyuck had always wanted a younger brother – Taeyong, Johnny, and Doyoung were always too busy learning how to take over their father’s business to ever really spend time with him.

So for him, Jisung was his personal blessing. Even though he had his own circle of friends, like Jaemin and Renjun, Jisung was different. Donghyuck didn’t have to be a brat. He didn’t have to be a snob – he could be himself, and even though Jisung pretended not to care, he always went out of his way to comfort Donghyuck when he got upset. The thought makes Donghyuck smile. Suddenly, he wanted to go bother his younger brother. 

“Oh no-“ Doyoung says when he sees his brother’s expression. The dark-haired boy looks up from where he’s finishing Donghyuck’s financing calculations for him, “What plan have you come up with to escape today? And don’t pull the ‘Jisung is sick and he needs me to take care of him’ card. I saw Jisung racing outside with Jeno this morning, which, might I add, sick people _don’t_ do.”

“Can I have a break?” Donghyuck asks as innocently as possible before adding what he knows will guarantee him one, “I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”

Donghyuck has tried this line several times before. With his regular tutors, they were so afraid of displeasing him that they let him leave for extended periods of time without question. On the rare occasion that Taeyong had the time to tutor him, Donghyuck rarely wished to abandon the time he was able to spend with his older brother – however, when he would try his charade, Taeyong’s eyes would widen, he would scold Donghyuck (gently) about missing breakfast and then give him the rest of the day to himself.

Johnny never bothered to show up on time for their sessions and was always just as eager as Donghyuck to leave – usually, he would be the one to suggest that they abandon the “boring math” to go get ice cream or pizza. Doyoung was usually pretty strict about him mastering the financial aspect of the business before his twentieth birthday so that he could start to attend “meetings” with his brothers and actually understand what was being said. Donghyuck doesn’t care about the meetings (or maybe he’s afraid of them, he can’t tell), so he watches closely as Doyoung hesitates. But it’s when his older brother’s Apple watch sounds and Doyoung glances at it does Donghyuck know that he’s free.

“Fine, a one-hour break” His older brother gives in with a warning look, “But you better come back.”

“I will!” Donghyuck promises, jumping from his seat, but not before reaching over and ruffling his brother’s hair, “You’re the best, hyung!”

Doyoung waves him off, complaining about the younger messing up his hair. When Donghyuck turns to leave, he can hear his brother say quite clearly to his Apple Watch “don’t waste time on questions, just kill him”. He resists the urge to shiver. It always amazed him how his brothers could so quickly switch from affectionate beings to ruthless leaders. But he doesn’t question it. He doesn’t even pause to ask who’s about to be killed. He just writes it off as another body under the casino’s widening grave.

Donghyuck hurries out of Doyoung’s office, ignoring the two bodyguards standing by the door. He makes his way down the hall, wondering where Jisung would be when it was almost noon. But then he remembers that Jisung only ate lunch at the diner, even with the endless possibilities he had at his disposure. Donghyuck thinks it has something to do with the cute, blond waiter that was always waiting for Jisung with sweets and a warm smile. After all, Jisung spent more time at the diner than anywhere else in the casino.

At the thought, Donghyuck shakes his head. He nears the door at the end of the hall, which the guards scramble to open for him. He steps outside of the “hideaway” and resists the urge to snort. It wasn’t much of a hideaway to begin with. They lived on the top floor of the casino, but to get to the hideaway, you needed the password, which only the closest associates of the Lee family were able to obtain, among them those in Donghyuck’s inner circle. True enough, when Donghyuck approaches the elevator at the end of the outside hallway, Renjun is already waiting there, phone pressed against his ear.

“Lucas lost last night.” Renjun informs him bitterly, as soon as Donghyuck is in ear shot.

“I know.” Donghyuck tells him with an obvious look, “I was there. You ran out onto the street, screamed ‘my life is over!’, then started crying, remember?”

“Oh” Renjun mutters sourly in response, mostly because he doesn’t care but also because he’s upset that he lost two million dollars in one night. The elevator doors open and the two step inside only for Renjun to narrow his eyes when Donghyuck presses the button for the diner, “Where are you going? We have to get my money back.”

“Do we?” Is Donghyuck’s response as he leans back against the elevator wall and mutters, “I’d much rather be helping myself to some food. Speaking of which, do you think Chenle will make more of those shortcakes for Jisung again? I stole some when he wasn’t looking and they’re pretty good-“

But the Lee boy barely has time to finish his sentence when Renjun grabs him by the front of his shirt and shakes him with a threatening look that Donghyuck resists the urge to laugh at.

“Are you telling me you care more about shortcakes than my money?” The Huang boy nearly shouts in his hysteria.

“Yes, Renjun, yes I am-“ Donghyuck confirms with an amused smirk before he notices that Renjun still has his phone to his ear despite threatening Donghyuck with his other, which prompts the brunet to ask, “Are you even on the phone with anyone?”

The Lee boy counts it as a personal victory when Renjun’s eyes widen and he quickly steps back, removing his grasp on Donghyuck in the process.

“I’ll call you back later.” The Huang boy blurts out into his phone before he tosses it, revealing a blank home screen that let’s Donghyuck know that the other boy had, in fact, _not_ been on a call with anyone. The doors to the elevator open seconds later and Donghyuck steps out quickly.

“Thank God.” He mutters, leaving behind a distressed Renjun.

“Two million dollars gone…” Renjun mutters, staring at his hands solemnly, “How am I supposed to live my life now?”

“Like the multimillionaire that you still are.” Donghyuck calls back to him with an annoyed look.

“A multimillionaire who’s down two million dollars!” Renjun shouts back, retrieving his phone before the elevator doors close. He unlocks the device and starts dialing numbers rapidly before holding it up to his ear again, “But not anymore. I am _going_ to get my money back. Where are Jaemin and Jeno? It’s time to assemble the team. We have a new mission-“

But Donghyuck ignores him. He steps into the diner and breathes a sigh of relief. The diner, in the late morning, was always the most peaceful place to be in the casino. The breakfast rush was gone, and the lunch rush hadn’t quite begun yet. Instead, what remained were a few stray people who lingered behind from breakfast, some on their phones, others mentally preparing themselves for the day as they fumbled around with what was left of their breakfast on the table. Donghyuck smiles as he passes one of the custodial staff who was mopping the floor, the checkered tiles looking shiny and pleasing. The staff smiles back in shock, nearly dropping the mop when the youngest Lee brother passes.

Donghyuck looks around the mellow diner before his eyes land on his intended target. Chenle is sitting in a booth, folding paper napkins into cranes with a bright smile. Across from him is Jisung, of course, who’s paper crane looked like it had seen better days. But behind them both is the same boy from the day before. Donghyuck doesn’t know his name, just that he looks a bit too familiar – familiar in a way that catches Donghyuck off guard. The boy was curled into the diner booth, damp hair falling into his face, arms wrapped around his knees that were tucked to his chest, and headphones sticking out of his ears.

He seemed to be people watching using the diner window, but Donghyuck couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to be mumbling song lyrics under his breath every now and then. Donghyuck decides to ignore him. He came down to find his younger brother and Chenle, not to see some random stranger. Still, it doesn’t stop him from running a hand through his hair or straightening his stance to appear a bit more confident. He hesitates before approaching the table where Jisung and Chenle are. Of course, the stranger glances at him, but Donghyuck pretends that he doesn’t notice.

“Is that an airplane?” Donghyuck jokes, pointing at the folded napkin in Jisung’s hand.

“It’s a crane.” Jisung defends his napkin crane with a pout. Chenle smiles at Jisung’s flushed face and Donghyuck kind of wants to puke.

“It looks like your student is struggling.” Donghyuck tells Chenle, who’s eyes widen a bit before he looks over to see Jisung tossing his napkin crane aside with a sour look. Chenle moves out of his side of the booth and slides in beside Jisung until their heads nearly collide.

“Don’t worry, Jisungie.” Chenle murmurs as he starts to fold one of the napkins slowly so that Jisung can follow, “You’ll get it in no time. Let’s just keep practicing.”

Jisung doesn’t respond, clearly too overwhelmed with being so close to the blond. Donghyuck muffles his snickering with his hand, but his younger brother clearly hears. Jisung’s head whips up to face him.

“What do you want?” He asks, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Donghyuck is kind of offended. Couldn’t he just come visit his little brother?

“Since Chenle is taking personal requests for desserts, I thought I’d put in one of my own.” Donghyuck says, smirking when his younger brother’s eyes narrow even more.

“He isn’t taking personal requests.” Jisung replies dryly, “He already has too much to do.”

“I don’t mind!” Chenle interjects quickly with a bright smile aimed at Donghyuck, “Mark hyung and I have a lot of fun making the desserts. So, what would you like?”

“Mark hyung?” Donghyuck questions to which Chenle nods enthusiastically.

“Yes, Mark hyung, the new hire! He’s really cute, see?” Is the blond’s response before he sends one of his napkin cranes flying out across the booth. Donghyuck watches as it hits the brunet in the booth behind them in the back of the head. The brunet jumps a bit before he removes his headphones and picks up the crane. When he finally turns around, with a small, hesitant smile, Donghyuck merely stares back.

“Is the break over?” He asks, looking at Chenle curiously. Donghyuck takes in his big, dark eyes and his pink ears peeking from beneath his brunet hair and he realizes almost immediately that he has to steer clear of the other boy entirely.

“No, no – I just wanted you to meet Donghyuck hyung.” Chenle explains, motioning to Donghyuck who has to resist the urge to run away, “Donghyuck hyung, this is Mark hyung!”

Mark looks at him and Donghyuck wants to be a brat and tell him there’s plenty of pictures of him on wanted posters if he really wants to stare that long. But he knows it’s his mind playing tricks on him. It’s simply a glance, but it’s enough to set Donghyuck’s nerves on fire. He felt anxious. He wanted to escape. He’s a rich kid with bad coping skills, so he immediately starts racking his brain for something snobby to say to make the other boy dislike him enough to avoid him.

It’s a bad habit, one he picked up from Doyoung, who used it to make it so that their associates only liked him enough to do business with him. “I don’t need friends to live my life. Friends are luxury items. There isn’t enough money in the world to help you buy a good one.” He would always tell Donghyuck, who took the words to heart. He already had his own inner circle. He didn’t need anything or anyone else. He certainly didn’t need any distractions, and just looking at Mark lets him know that the other boy will be his worst one yet.

“Uh, nice to meet you.” Mark says, boyishly awkward. He rubs at his ear anxiously and Donghyuck’s snobby remark immediately dies down in his throat. It doesn’t help that Jisung is smirking and Chenle looks knowing but is attempting to hide it with a (fake) oblivious smile.

Donghyuck, who has been set up and betrayed, wants to crawl into the nearest hole. Instead, he’s saved (and utterly embarrassed) when he blinks and then he feels himself being completely lifted from the ground. On instinct, Donghyuck flails, but it’s no use, the person hauls him up over their shoulder with ease. Mark watches the encounter with wide eyes while Jisung laughs loudly and Chenle giggles. Face flushed, Donghyuck doesn’t struggle. Instead, he blurts out an embarrassed –

“What are you _doing_?”

“God’s work.” A voice answers before Renjun appears with a satisfied look, phone still pressed to his ear. Jaemin is beside him, covering his amused grin with the sleeve of his sweater. The admiring look in Jaemin’s eyes lets Donghyuck know that his kidnapper is in fact Lee Jeno.

“Renjunie says it’s time to assemble the team.” Jaemin says, stepping forward and linking his arms with the one Jeno didn’t have securely wrapped around a defeated Lee Donghyuck, “Two million dollars was stolen from us last night.”

“Or it was lost in a fair race.” Jisung speaks up from the booth with a shrug, “And besides, Renjun made back triple just by waking up this morning.”

“But it _wasn’t_ lost in fair race.” Renjun says, taking a break from his (nonexistent) phone conversation to address the younger, “It was rigged.”

“And how do you know it was rigged?” Jisung asks, to which Jaemin looks as if he agrees. Both he, Jeno, and Donghyuck look to the Huang boy for an explanation.

“Because we lost!” Is Renjun’s distressed response. He runs a hand through his hair in frustration then, “God Jisung, stop asking difficult questions.”

“And come with us.” Donghyuck adds, craning his head back to give his younger brother his best pout. He also does his best to ignore the way Mark is looking at him intensely.

“I’ll pass.” Jisung is quick to decline, “Chenle and I are going to the arcade after his shift.”

“Hear that Big Sun? Looks like you’ve been abandoned for Little Sun, so let’s go.” Jaemin says with a smirk before turning and leading the way out of the diner, still holding tightly to Jeno’s arm. Donghyuck can only watch helplessly as he’s carried along. He takes in Chenle’s enthusiastic goodbye waves, glares at his traitor of a brother, and ignores Mark’s curious stare. The rest of the diner staff ignore them, used to their antics (and much worse). Donghyuck allows Jeno to carry him out of the diner, but as soon as they get outside, he’s quick to bribe.

“Jeno, if you put me down now, I’ll tell you where Jaemin hid your Switch and buy you a new one tomorrow.” He promises. And he’s always been good on his promises, if the New iPhone in Jaemin’s hand were any indication. It works, of course. Jeno can’t say no to games. Donghyuck smirks when the blond starts to walk slower, as if contemplating the offer. When Jaemin senses this, he turns around pulls the arm Jeno has around Donghyuck, leaving the blond with no choice but to drop the Lee boy. Donghyuck flails and hits the ground with a dramatic shout. Jaemin merely snickers before pulling Jeno along to where Renjun has already found his car.

“Imagine dropping millions of dollars on the floor like that.” Donghyuck mutters before pushing himself to his feet. He brushes his clothes off and makes the mistake of looking back where he finds that the boy, Mark, is looking at him from the diner window. Donghyuck curses and quickly turns away, hurrying after his friends.

Renjun’s Bugatti had been a gift from Johnny for going above and beyond in their street racing gig. Despite having an expensive car collection himself, Donghyuck had been jealous. It wasn’t the fact that Renjun had received an expensive gift, it was more so the fact that Johnny and Renjun spent more time together in a week than Donghyuck and Johnny did in a month.

“Cheer up” Renjun says, when he glances over at Donghyuck who had probably been sulking in the passengers seat, “In a few hours, we’ll be two million dollars richer.”

“You do realize that means nothing to someone who’s already worth millions of dollars, right Renjun?” Donghyuck replies, because he didn’t care about the money. Somehow, having millions attached to your name meant nothing. Deep down, he still felt unhappy.

“So, be content with the money we do have and don’t try to seek more? That’s no fun.” Renjun replies, cranking up the car and shifting to drive. Donghyuck looks in the rear view to see Jeno taking pictures of Jaemin, who has shades on is pretending not to notice as he leans back in his seat. Then, he looks over just as Renjun glances at him with a smirk, “We’re rich, Hyuck. We’re never satisfied.”

And then, Donghyuck can only grip his seat belt when Renjun _slams_ on the gas and the Bugatti lurches into the busy afternoon traffic.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but weren’t you complaining about rigged races earlier?” Donghyuck jokes with a smirk. He’s crouched beside an Aston Martin talking to Renjun who’s under the body, doing what Johnny has taught him many times before.

“Yes, but their rigged job was useless because I know what they did.” Renjun’s muffled voice comes from beneath the car before he slides out, face a bit smudged with grime, “Mines is useful because I’m going to get my money back and then some.”

“You’re betting double?” Donghyuck asks, offering a hand to his friend. Renjun takes it and the youngest Lee brother lifts him up gently, making sure to wipe the grime from the Huang boy’s face.

“I’m going to make them go broke.” Is Renjun’s determined response before he stalks off towards the starting line.

Donghyuck smirks in amusement before following. Day races were trickier than night ones. The cops were more alert during the day and racing in plain sight made things that much more obvious. But Renjun had made it clear that he wouldn’t be waiting for his revenge. He had called Lucas and told him to be at the location before they got there. And true enough, when Donghyuck approaches the starting line, he finds Lucas leaning against his car of the day, a black Lamborghini Aventador that goes well with his white shirt and ripped, black jeans.

“Oops, looks like you’ve got a bit of drool right there.” An amused voice says before Jaemin appears, wiping at Donghyuck’s chin with a smirk, “No worries, I’ve got you-“

Donghyuck makes sure to grab Jaemin’s wrist and twist his arm behind his back. Jeno is too busy trying to find a good spot to record the race to notice or save him and Donghyuck is thankful.

“Hello!” Jaemin shouts before Donghyuck wraps an arm around his neck and squeezes, “I’m being strangled over here!”

Mostly everyone turns to look at them, which unfortunately includes Lucas. Donghyuck thinks he may faint when the Wong boy smiles and waves at him. He starts to abandon his car to head towards them but Renjun is quick to shoo him back towards his vehicle.

“Get in the car, Romeo.” Renjun says to which Lucas pouts but does as told. Once that task is complete, he turns and heads back to the sidelines where his rival, Mr. Park, is waiting with his circle of associates. Renjun makes sure to appear less confident so as not to give himself away. He simply levels Mr. Park with a serious look when he asks, “So, four million, all or nothing, right?”

“All or nothing.” Mr. Park confirms with a nod, Jaemin and Donghyuck exchanging glances beside him.

Renjun and Mr. Park shake hands and that’s all it takes for everyone to turn their attention to the race. They do so just in time to see Mr. Park’s racer pull up in their (rigged) Aston Martin. Renjun allows a cocky smirk to appear on his face briefly before he quickly schools his expression as the race prepares to start.

“On your marks, get set-“ The announcer calls out in an even voice before the flag is waved.

Donghyuck feels as if he merely blinks and both the Lamborghini and the Aston Martin take off, speeding down the open backway. He turns his attention to one of the screens hanging on one of the wire lines showing two icons on a map, the blue for Lucas and the red for Mr. Park’s racer. And of course, Lucas was in the lead already.

“And just like that, Romeo wins the race and steals the princes’ heart.” Jaemin says, slinging his arm around Donghyuck with a smirk.

“_Gay_” Donghyuck mutters, nose crinkled before he smiles and leans his head against his friend’s shoulder, “Tell me more.”

“Actually, I think his story is more of a Cinderella one.” Jeno appears, scrolling through pictures on Jaemin’s iPhone, “See?”

Jaemin accepts the phone from Jeno while Donghyuck blurts out, “I’m sorry, but does Jeno just not have a phone of his own or…?”

“Looks legit to me.” Jaemin says, showing the phone screen to Donghyuck with a thoughtful look, “We’ll call this one Diner Boy and the Casino Prince.”

Donghyuck squints at the screen and nearly breaks Jaemin’s phone (again). On the screen is a picture of himself from mere moments ago. He’s standing in the diner, face flushed, an almost shy look on his face (which was very unusual for Lee Donghyuck), and the person on the receiving end of his gaze was Mark, who was sitting in the booth, earphones dangling around his neck as he stared back at Donghyuck.

“Excuse me” Renjun, Donghyuck’s personal savior (and tormentor), appears, a strained look on his face, “Are we really discussing Donghyuck’s tragic love life when we’re literally seconds away from becoming four million dollars richer?”

“Yes?” Jeno replies hesitantly to which Renjun merely narrows his eyes at him.

“Actually, my love life is pretty-“ Donghyuck starts only to be cut off when Renjun pushes past him to point at where a black Lamborghini was approaching with no Aston Martin in sight.

“Tragic” Jaemin smirks at where Donghyuck is left to stand, finger held out as his point is left to linger in the air. But before Donghyuck can attack him, two things happen. The first is that Jeno comes to shield Jaemin. The second is that Mr. Park appears to have realized that there’s a reason that his racer’s Aston Martin has only made it halfway through the race before seemingly breaking down.

“What have you done?” The dark-haired man asks, looking away from the screen to give Renjun an intense look.

“The same thing you did last night.” Renjun replies casually with a shrug before he motions for Jeno to pick up the bag of cash that the older man had dumped on the ground earlier, “And now that I’ve won, I’ll just be taking that.”

“That Aston Martin was brand new! We just brought it out today. There’s no way it could have broken down unless someone tampered with it, someone who thinks they’re clever enough to rig a race because they lost the one the night before.” Mr. Park replies, and Donghyuck can tell that by the way the man’s men are closing in on them that things are getting dangerous. The thing about Renjun’s “missions” that he could never get used to was the fact that they never included bringing bodyguards.

“Look, I would love to stay and argue this with you, but I have four million dollars to count.” Renjun says, appearing as calm as ever, “But if you think we rigged the race and you really want answers, you can definitely get them off of our cold, dead bodies.”

Everything happens quickly. Jeno, who had reached into the bag of money before zipping it and picking it up, tosses a handful of cash at Mr. Park, the money scattering and catching the dark-haired man and his associates off guard long enough for Donghyuck and the others to make a run for it.

“Really Jeno? My money!” Renjun calls out despite the fact that they were running from a mob of angry men. 

“Sorry!” Jeno replies bashfully, making Jaemin laugh and Donghyuck grin as they run along the back way.

“Split up!” Renjun calls out, and though Donghyuck hates being on his own, he knows that it’s for the best.

He decides to take the first alleyway he sees. He knows that if he can get to the main road, he’ll be safe, and he can wait for the others to ditch the angry mob so they can go back to Renjun’s car. All he’s left with is his own heavy breathing and the loud tapping of his shoes as they hit the ground. Its terrible how vulnerable he feels without Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin surrounding him. When he looks back, it’s to see that no one is following him. Somewhat relieved, he slows down a bit, but the sound of a car engine makes him speed up once more. However, upon glancing back, he breathes a sigh of relief. He stops running and waits for the car to approach while he struggles to catch his breath.

“Need a ride?” It’s Lucas, grinning as he looks out of the window of his Lamborghini.

“This is the most exercise I’ve gotten since Middle School.” Donghyuck says, grinning when Lucas laughs loudly at his joke.

He makes his way to the passenger side where Lucas leans over and opens the door. The Lee boy slips inside, and the door closes behind him, and not a second later, the Lamborghini is speeding out of the alleyway. As soon as they turn right, Donghyuck knows they’re headed straight to the casino. He realizes he should text Renjun and tell him he’s found a ride back home, but he figures the others are probably still fleeing Mr. Park and his associates, so he simply leans back in the Lamborghini’s comfortable leather seats and enjoys the smooth, cruising nature of Lucas’ driving. But, the ringing of his phone soon catches his attention. Without bothering to check the caller ID, Donghyuck pulls out his phone and answers the call.

“Where have you been?” Doyoung’s loud, worried voice echoes in his ear and Donghyuck almost has a heart attack as he remembers his abandoned Financing lesson, “Wherever you are, come back to the casino. _Now_.”

“Sorry hyung.” Donghyuck apologizes with a sheepish smile that he knows his brother can’t see, “I’m on my way back now.”

Doyoung hangs up without another word and that’s how Donghyuck knows that he may have dug himself into a hole that might require a lot of diligent finance studying to get out of.

“Brother?” Lucas guesses, glancing at him briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

“Yes, a very angry, impatient one” Donghyuck admits, rolling his eyes.

“Ah, don’t worry.” Lucas tells him with a smile, “Everything will be alright.”

Hesitantly, the Lee boy returns the Wong boy’s smile. Then, he rests his head against the seat, closes his eyes, and thinks, as they maneuver through the busy afternoon traffic, that in the end, just as Lucas had said, everything would be alright for Lee Donghyuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just a little bit of an introduction to the characters and their dynamics. I hope it was still enjoyable ♡.


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